Huller type cotton gin



Jan. 30, 1940. J WALLACE 2,188,826

HULLER 'TYPE COTTON GIN Filed Feb. 28, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Elma/mm J 1] Wallace Jan. 30, 1940. J. J. WALLACE HULLER TYPE COTTON GIN Filed Feb. 28, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wm H M .W J J Jan. 30, 1940. r WALLACE 2,188,826

HULLER TYPE COTTON GIN Filed Feb. 28, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 imam/bo a J J Vl a/ face Patented Jan. 30, 1940 ATENT oFFicE.

2,188,826. HULLER TYPE COTTON. Gm

. .Jefis vJ Walla e,..Ami La, igncr tofinlle t- Gin'Company, Amite, La. acorporation-ot.

Louisiana;

Application --February 28, 1939, Serial No; 259,033 r 12 Claims.

This, invention'relates:to-cotton gins, and more particularly -toanimproved roll -dump and breast lift'mechanism;

Cotton gins-in-the past have-had relatively awkward meansfor inspectingthe cotton rolls. It-has been'necessary to manually raise heavy parts ofthe gin mechanism.

One objectbfthepresent invention is to provide-'animproved cotton gin; Another object isrtoiprovide a-s'mgle:mechanism forstopping the ginning'operation'; and forjremoving a cotton rollifrom the cotton-box: A further object is to' provide a sing-lemanually operated mechanism' for separating the" gin breasts, and for cleaning theginfsaws Yet another object is to-provide'a gin in which. inner andouter breasts may; be; locked in cooperative position with respect, to the ginsaws:

A further object is to provide a means for r ising'the; gin breast-s away; from the ginning saws: Still further objects include: the provisionota singlemanualjmea-ns for moving the breasts-away fromthe saws; and subsequently moving-thebreasts relative to each-other; manually releasable-means-iorlatching the-breasts together; unitary means for moving the breasts with respect'to the-"gin frame and for'bodily moving the breastswithrespectto each other; the provisionof 'meansionmoving the breasts jointly with respect to the'frame andsaws; and subsequently moving the breasts relatively with respect'to;each-otherand' locking the parts in such'position: q

A still'further object of this invention is to provide an improved-breast lifting means that in they first movement of thebreast lift lever willreleasethe mechanism and: raise both-* the inner and outer; breast clear of the saws, then by a further movement of this same lever; lift the second Ol3 outer breast "clear of. the-first or inner breast. v Q r 1 I i Other objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following description, taken in ,connection. with the. accompanying "drawings.

In the drawingswherein like. charactersrepresent/corresponding.parts. in the various figures: Figure. 1. isa partial end elevation showing a; gin incorporating features of this invention 0 withthe; parts in position for ginning;

figure-2 is a; similar-rview. showing the gin breasts moved with. respect to the gin 1 frame and saws;

Figures is a: siniila'r'view-showing the parts 55 incompletely: extended position with the gin breasts mqvedwith respect to the frame, and with respect to each other; and

Figure i is a detail view-of the operating handle.

Considering the drawings'in greater detail; the 5 invention is illustrated bya plurality of end elevation views of a gin, incorporatingieatures of the inventive concept. The'internal construe.- tion ofthe iswnot=shown, sinoeit'isdeemed unnecessary for a clear understanding of 'the 10 invention. However, in this regardthe internal arrangement of a' cotton gin of the general. :type contemplated by thisinven-tion can be observed in Patent No. 2,142,977.:

The, drawings illustrate the application of 15 features of this inventive conceptto a cotton 2 gin of the-airblasttype. However, it will be readily understoodth-at the inventionis equally applicable to cotton gins of other types. In Figure 1 an end elevation of a gin'is shown 20 comprising a frame Hl having an .air reservoir i l2 and *a cotton outlet duct- I l-for operation as an air blast gin. A plurality of "gin saws lfiware mountedupon'a gin saw'oylinder, whichilatter isrotatably supported upon aldrive shaft I8. 25'

Appropriate power mechanism for driving gthe gin saws will be provided; but since the-details of this mechanism areunimportant insofar as thepresent invention is. concerned; they will not be illustrated-"in detail.

A cotton roll cylinder. 20.:-carrying a series, of seed breastsl22 is pivotally: supported 5121241113011 an upper part of the frame-l0: Rotatable end plates are supportedintheendwallsof the cottonroll'chamber or compartment, so as .to 35 eliminate =ormaterially reduce any friction between the turning cotton rollandz: the walls of the roll box. The lower' end 28 ofthe: inner breast is provided with a transversely extending runner or brace bar 30*. comprising. channel 40 member 32 and a wooden .insert34 At the opposite ends of the foregoing bars and connected to the frame. l0:is an appropriate mechanism forabsorbi'ng any-shocks when the parts are moved together, and :for forcibly'mov- 5 ing thebreasts-into extended position when the gin is beingopened. This'xlatter mechanism comprises :a hollow. cy1inder-36 which is pivotally secured to the frame by means of a bolt 38. Aplunger40:extends-through the cylinder andispivotally connectedto-the bar 3,4.by a. lug and pin'connection 42Tat its one end. The plunger has fixed' upom itin. spaced relation collars 44' and- 16a A heavy spring 48- encircles the plunger andis housedinteriorly of the-cylinder 3B abutting against the collar 34 at one end, and against the apertured flange 58 at the opposite end. When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, the spring is placed under considerable stress. When the breasts are moved away from the gin saws, the collar 88 can move up to an abutting position with respect to the flange 58, and thereby determine the extended movement of the inner breast. This is clearly indicated in Figure 2.

With the parts as thus far described, it will be readily understood that the innenbreast 20 is normally positioned as in Figure 1, with the gin saw blade I6 extending through and between breast elements 22. When the parts are released to be moved away from the gin saw blades, the

spring 48 moves the inner breast to extended fall downwardly in the hulling compartment 62.,

Any dirt or small parts of the hulls can drop out of the coarse mesh screening 88.

The outer breast 52 is releasably connected to the inner breastwhen in closed position, by means of a latch 68 which is pivotally mounted at 88 on the inner breast, having a hand grip portion I0 and a latch portion I2 engaging the pin or shaft I4 extending from the outer breast.

The upper end of the outer breast 52 is slidably mounted upon the inner breast by means of a roller bearing comprising a roller I8 pivotally mounted upon the outer breast at 88 and arranged to roll upon the slight upwardly extending track or rail 82. The opposite ends 84 and 86 of the track 82 are arcuate and serve as limit stops for the rollers I8.

Manually operated mechanism is provided for moving the inner and outer breasts 28 and 52 together about the pivot 24 with respect to the gin saws. This mechanism comprises the bellcrank shaped lever 88 which is pivoted at 88 upon a boss 92 carried by the outer breast 52. The boss 92 may be a separate member secured upon the outer breast, and is notched for three positions 84, 96 and 98. The bell-crank carries a latch I88 biased by means of a spring I92 intonotch engaging position, as shown in Figure 4. To release the manual lever 88 and move it from one position to the other it is merely necessary for an operator to grasp the lever 88, pulling the latch I out of engagement with a notch, and moving the lever to another notch engaging position. The lever 88 has a short arm I84 which is pivotally connected at its outer end N18 with a link I88, which latter is pivotally connected to theframe In at the point H8.

A link bar H2 has an elongated yoke I! at its outer end, through which the pin I86 extends, and is provided at its inner end with lock collarsl l6 and H8 at either side of an apertured bracket portion I28 of the frame. A spring I22 encircling the rod and interpositioned between the collar H8 and the flange I28 serves to yieldably hold the rod I I2 in one position while determining the degree of movement that the pin I88 may have with respect to the pivot pin 24.

The description of the mechanism has been limited to that shown in the drawings, and is at one end of the gin, it being understood, however, that corresponding mechanismis arranged at the opposite end of the gin, with the exception that the handlever 88 may preferably be arranged at one end or the other. This eliminatesthe need of two hand levers, and themechanism can readily be operated by means offlthe one lever.

The operation of the gin is substantially as follows: The parts being in the position shown in Figure 1, the normal ginning operations can take place.- If it is desired to clear the gin saws for any reason, the manually operated lever 88 is moved from the notch 94 to the notch 86, at which point the parts will-be positioned as in Figure 2. In this case, the inner and outer breasts blades l8 as a resultof the release of the stress in the spring member 48. In this case the ginning and hulling ribs have been clearly moved away from the gin saw. If it is now desired to rehave been forcibly moved away from the gin saw. 2

to provide a wide passage I24 so that the cotton I roll can be quickly and easily removed from the box. During this last movement, the outer breast member 52 is moved bodily with respect to the inner breast member 28, the operator firsthaving released the latch 66 so that the hand lever could move the two breast members relative; to each other. i

of its rollers I8, and thereby swings the entire outer breast clear of the inner breast The lever 88' and link I88, as seen in Figure 3, are past dead center position so that the breasts in their outer positionare locked against any possible closing.

During this movement the outer breast member rides on the trackway 82 by means It will be observed that at all times when the breasts are open that the spring 48 forces both breasts entirely clear of the gin saws, so vthat it is physically impossible for an operator to be injured by coming in contact with the saw blades.

The spring 48 in it'scompressed position is of.

such strength as to exert a force on collar 44 sufficient to raise both the inner and outer breast 20 and 52 from engagement with the saws [6.

Certain features of this. application will be found disclosed in my cor-pending application Ser. No. 252,633, filed January'24, 1939.

Although a preferred embodiment of this in vention has been illustrated and described, variations within the true spirit and scope of the same are to be determined by .the appended claims. f

WhatIclaim is:

1.-A gin breast of the class described including an inner breast member and an'outer breast member, a pivot connecting said inner breast member to a gin frame and serving as a common pivot for both breast members, the outer breast member having a rolling upper bearing connection to the inner member, -a separable latched connection to the lower'part of the inner member, and means constructed and arranged to move said members jointly about said common-pivot respect to the inner breast member.

2; A ginbreastof'the classdescribed' comprisinginner'and'iouter breast members,' a pivot con- .memberatheouterbreast member havinga roll-' ing. upper. bearing, connection to the inner, member. and a lower.separableconneotion to the inner member, andlcommon means constructed" and arranged to move said members jointly about said common.pivot andtomove the outer b're'ast member bodily with respect to the inner breast memher.

3. A gin breast of the class described comprising inner and outer breast members, the outer breast member having a rolling upper bearing connection to the inner member and a lower separable connection to the inner member, a pivot connecting said inner breast member to a gin frame and serving as a common pivot for both breast members, and manual means constructed and arranged to move said members jointly about said common pivot and to subsequently move the outer breast member bodily with respect to the inner breast member.

4. A cotton gin comprising a frame, a gin breast of the classdescribed comprising inner and outer breast members, a pivot connecting the inner member to said frame, the outer breast member having a rolling upper bearing connection to the inner member and a lower separable connection to the inner member, and means constructed and arranged to move said members jointly about the pivot on said frame, and to move the outer breast member bodily with respect to the inner breast member.

5. A cotton gin comprising a frame, a gin breast of the class described comprising inner and outer breast members, a pivot connecting the inner member to said frame, the outer breast member having a rolling upper bearing connection to the inner member and a lower separable connection to the inner member, means constructed and arranged to move said members jointly about the pivot on said frame, and to move the outer breast member bodily with respect to the inner breast member, and to lock said members in extended position.

6. A cotton gin comprising a frame, a gin breast of the class described comprising inner and outer breast members, a pivot connecting the inner member to said frame, the outer breast member having a rolling upper bearing connection to the inner member, means constructed and arranged to move said members jointly about the pivot on said frame, and to move the outer breast member bodily with respect to the inner breast member, and to lock said members in extended position, said means being manually releasable to restore the members into cooperative working position.

7. A cotton gin comprising a frame, gin saws mounted in said frame, a gin breast including an inner breast member and an outer breast member, the outer breast member having a rolling upper bearing connection to the inner member, pivot means supporting the inner breast member on the frame, means biasing the members away from the saws, and means constructed and arranged to move said members jointly about the pivot means on the frame away from saws and to move the outer breast member bodily with respect to the inner breast member.

8. In a double ribbed cotton gin a gin breast member having an upper roll box section and a lower ribbed section, a second breast member havingi'an upper roll' boxsectionanda lower 'ribbed'secti'on along with ahulling'chamb'er; gin saws normally extendingthrough the-ribs on both of said sections, a. pivotal mounting on which both section's maybepivotedto clear the' ribs on said sections from the gin saws, a track and roller bearing connection" between the first and second breast memb'ers. and.means connected to the secondl breast member 'to roll thesame'on its track bearing. away from the other breast member, whereby to provide a. .passagethrough-which-a cotton roll in the roll box maybe discharged downwardly between the separated members.

9. In a cotton gin, a frame, an inner breast having an upper roll box section and a lower ribbed section, an outer breast having a cooperating upper roll box section and a lower ribbed section, a gin saw cylinder having saws normally. extending through the ribs of both of said sections, a fixed upper pivotal mounting for the inner breast on said frame on which the inner breast is directly but revolubly mounted, and around which both of said breasts jointly swing, said breasts being releasably connected at their lower ends, a separate connection including pivoted rollers mounting the outer breast on theinner breast, means pivotally mounted on the outer breast and said frame to effect movement of the breasts relation, a gin saw cylinder having saws normally extending through the ribs of both of said sections, a

fixed upper pivotal mounting for the inner breast on said frame on which the inner breast is directly but revolubly mounted, and around which as an axis both of said breasts jointly swing,.said breasts being releasably interconnected at their lower ends, a separate connection including pivoted-rollers mounting the outer breast on the inner breast, means pivotally mounted on the outer breast and said frame for moving the breasts relative to each other so as to provide a passage through which a cotton roll in the roll box may be discharged downwardly between the separated breasts, means to limit the movement of the outer breast with respect to the frame and to retain the outer breast in extended position, and means responsive to an actuated pivotal means constructed and arranged to thrust the breasts away from'the frame and gin saw cylinder.

11. A cotton gin comprising a frame, relatively movable breast members combinedly defining and I constituting separable parts of a cotton roll compartment, means constituting a pivotal mount for one member on said frame, means for latching the members in cooperating relation, means for automatically moving the cotton roll compartment forming breast members relatively with respect to the frame and about said pivotal mount thereon, and manual means constructed and arranged to first release the members and allow them to move jointly with respect to the frame and then to move them relative to each other including a lever pivoted on the frame, a bell crank pivoted on the outer breast and to the other end of said lever andmanually movable whereby to permitthe automatic movement of said compartment forming breast members, and a roller bearing interconnecting the breast members.

12. A cotton gin comprising a frame, inner and outer breast members, the upper-parts of which define a roll box, theinner breast having a pivotal connection with said frame and the outer breast being supported by the inner breast, means biasing said breasts as a unit in a direction to swing said breasts away from said frame about said pivotal connection, manually actuated "movement releasing said biasing means, and inv eluding an element thrusting between said breasts H forseparating them, said element being inert during the initial movement of said manually actuated means, but active to separate said breasts I upon further movement of said manually actuated means. I

, 10. n JEFFREY J. WALLACE. 1 

